Sunday, 16 March 2008

O! The Joy- Zen Mode

Gather round all you fans of Mars Volta and Battles for here is a band you can’t help but fall in love with. Sacremento’s, O! The Joy are spawned from the ashes of Mister Metaphor- the former project of OTJ’s drummer, Jusitin Goings, and with its intricate drumbeats, frantic guitar riffs and anguished vocals ‘Zen Mode’ is defiantly a record which is not for the feint hearted.

However, don’t let this put you off. Although the band’s debut may need several listens to get into, once you have been drawn into its spell, it’s hard to break free. The urgency experienced in tracks such as ‘Under The Radar’ and ‘There Is No Such Thing As Organised Crime’ with their sharp and precise squeals of the guitar and staccato drumming mark a stark contrast to the more laid back ‘22345’ and ‘The Man And The Secrets’ where haunting melodies are under-laid with cymbal crashes and the whip-snap of snares.

The end result is sensational. Atmospheric, raw and bursting with energy ‘Zen Mode’ explodes onto your senses and with its rich, experimental compositions, and yelping vocals from lead singer, Kurt Travis, it is an album that brings together math, post and progressive rock into one colourful and entirely new sensation.